Our 2100 mile trip retracing the route of the Klondike Gold Rush

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Day 37: Storm day

“Being stranded on an island, forced to rest – it’s not easier than paddling”, Imre wrote.

We asked how they were able to paddle and even stay awake for 28 hours. Peter tried to take short naps during the 15-minute paddle-breaks, but soon he realized it’s not a good idea. By sleeping he would get really cold really soon, risking hypothermia.

A few local Eskimos showed up on the island father and son are camping at. The fishermen were fixing their nets and were eager to talk about their culture, language and everyday lives.

Imre and Peter could sense some pride in their voices as the men distinguished themselves and their language (Yup’ik) from the inland Natives (Athabascan). Imre had noticed a difference himself: he says the villages are becoming cleaner and more beautiful as they are getting closer to the sea. The conversation went on in English of course, but it turned out that both parties speak their native languages at home (for Peter and Imre it is Hungarian). “Hello” = “Whaka” in the fishermen’s language.

Imre asked the men to take him along for fishing. They said they would if they were fishing for themselves, but this time it’s commercial fishing and that means they can’t.

They were not willing to sell smoked salmon (they have barely enough for themselves), but they offered bear meat for sale. Someone also offered moose meat as a present. Our adventurers declined both offers, if for nothing else than for safety reasons: they don’t want to entice bears by cooking meat at their camp site.

Below you can see the wind forecast for today with wind speeds of 12-17 mph and gusts as strong as 24 mph. Monday afternoon looks better, Tuesday even better. (Our adventurers are able to get a simple weather forecast from a satellite device they carry and we send them detailed information when needed, via the same device.)